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Consumers Guide to Home Inspections

Understanding home inspection and choosing the right home inspector can be a difficult task, especially if you don’t know what questions to ask. I hope this guide is helpful if you are a first time buyer and need to know what home inspections are all about or have purchased many homes, you will probably find information here that you may not have thought of. Whether you hire me as your inspector or not, you owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can about the most expensive purchase you will ever make….your home.The history of home inspectionThe home inspection industry is still relatively new. To the home buyers of the early 1900s, property inspections were non-existent. In this simpler era, the purchase of a home was a simple bank transaction and a handshake. The thought of suing someone over  a home purchase problem was not on anyone’s mind. As long as the roof didn’t leak and the house was basically sound,   read more....The home inspection processFirst of all, what exactly is a home inspector?Actually that can be a good question. If I were to sum it up, I would say that we are consumer advocates. We work for the customer to use our knowledge of houses to help you gain as much information about the home as possible so that you know what you are buying and maybe negotiate for repairs, upgrades or money off the price of the house. I can tell you what we are not.We are not:Code Inspectors- We do not enforce building codes on existing homes, although we do if we inspect new homes and homes outside city jurisdiction. But in a typical  read more......When should I schedule the inspection?As soon as you have a contract on the house. Most contracts give you want is called and “opt out period”. The opt out time can vary and in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, 10 day seems to be the norm. During this time, you will need to have the home inspection performed  read more....... The scope and limitations of a home inspectionI am asked frequently when a potential client calls as to what items are covered with the home inspection. Basically most all the home’s components from the roof, on down to the foundation are inspected. The roof, electrical, plumbing, attic area, interior, AC and furnace  read more......Home inspection contingencyIn most cases with existing home purchases, you have within the opt out period a contingency to buy the home “as is” based on the inspection report. Or if you decline the acceptance, then you have the following options.1. Ask the sellers to make some of the needed repairs. You should be sure to address the issues related to  safety as a priority.2. Ask the sellers to make all the needed repairs  read more.......How long should an inspection take to perform?It depends on many factors such as how large a house is, if the house has a pier & beam foundation, it takes longer to crawl under the house and inspect. If the home has a swimming pool and sprinkler system, that takes time also. It also depends on how thorough   read more......Why you should attend the inspectionI perform many home inspections for people that are out of town and are moving to the area, so I write my inspection reports to be as detailed as possible with many photos for clarification. However, you should try your best to be present for the inspection and ask as many questions as you can.  read more......How to choose the right home inspectorChoosing the right home inspector can be daunting, especially if you have never needed to hire one before. By reading this guide, you should have a good idea of what questions to ask when interviewing an inspector. Many people have the impression that all professional home inspectors are all that same since we all go by the same standards. Nothing could be further from the truth. If two inspectors were to inspect the same house, the inspection reports and findings could be quite different.  read more.......Questions to ask a home inspector companyTo help you to ask the right questions, I have made a list of questions I would ask a potential home inspector.1. How long have you had your license and have been inspection homes?2. Are you a full time independent inspector or is this a multi-inspector company?3. How long does it take to perform a  typical home inspection?4. How long does it take for me to get my inspection report?  read more.......